Dove Nourishing Oil Care

So I'm about to start my experience with Influenster, as I mentioned in my last post, where I will have the honor of testing products and writing my reviews of them on this blog.  As a "warm up," I requested a sample from Dove's facebook for a product.  I've always been a fan of Dove, so I figured anything they sent would be fun to try :)

A few days ago, I received a sample of Dove Nourishing Oil care.  Figures.  The girl with naturally oily hair gets Oil care cream.  Oh, it's not as bad as it used to be..I used to not be able to skip washing my hair on a daily basis because it was so bad, but I can now safely skip the hair washing every other day--which is much healthier!  Kiah's napping so I thought..at least if it looks like a grease pit, I have time to shower again before she wakes up.

This product promises to control up to 100% frizz for 24 hour shine.  It's made with weightless nutri-oils which smooths uplifted cuticle that cause frizz and deeply nourishes without feeling greasy so hair is easier to manage and style.  I read this and rolled my eyes. They don't know my hair, obviously.

It recommends a quarter sized portion, but I stuck with a dime size.  I added it to my hair and started making a face as I (probably mentally) felt my hair getting greasy.  But then, by the time I walked to the bathroom to check the mirror, it had dried, my hair smelled fantastic, and looked extremely shiny!  With my hair looking dreadful from today's horrid tornado-like weather, I figured there was no way it would style any different without being rewashed.  That's how my hair always is. A bad hair day stays a bad hair day until I rewash it.  But I grabbed my brush (which normally makes my hair static-y) and began doing my thing to get some "pouff" and "umph"...and it worked! Looks just as good as if I had reshowered, redried, and reshaped my hair with a round brush! 

I was pleasantly surprised by this product.  This realist who tends to lean a little towards negativity was proven wrong!  Good product and I would definitely recommend it :) Even to, especially to!, oily haired girls!!

Influenster.com and ABCmouse.com

Long time, no blog huh? Sorry about that. With a bout of strep throat and upper respiratory infection, I'm just now finally caught up on laundry and other various chores.  In turn, leaving me time to start blogging again :) 
I recently signed up on Influenster.com.  It's a site where you are able to test products and interact with Influenster and the product's companies about your experience.  A friend (and family member) of mine has been doing this for a little bit and I just knew there had to be a catch.  Some kind of fee, some kind of harassing telemarketing..some trick!  But there wasn't!  She would just receive these awesome products in the mail and get to try them out!  In turn, she found products that she truly liked and has become faithful in endorsing and using herself. 
So, I signed up and just got my first invitation and acception for a Love VoxBox, being sent out soon!  I'll get several different things to try out and I will be sure to let you know all about it! Hopefully, in turn, you'll learn about products you were wanting to know a little bit more about before you actually put your own hard-earned cash into it!

On another note, I have recently signed up for abcmouse.com for Kiah, who is 3 1/2.  I am so loving it right now. It's a "classroom" type setting with an avatar teacher and it's broken into toddler, preschool, kindergarten, etc.  So far, we've worked on music, art, puzzles, colors, and zoo animals. Its very educational, while being fun and interesting at the same time.  As she completes "lessons" she earns tickets. With these tickets, shes able to "go shopping".  For her own avatar, she wants a Cat, which is 150 tickets..she's about 30 shy from it.  Its just a really neat website and I'm getting the first month free.  After that, it's only $7.95 a month and you can cancel at any time.  She loves it and I feel like it's really working her brain, so it's more than likely something we'll continue!

Anyway, I'm back and my new voxbox is arriving soon..:) So be sure to keep an eye out for more posts!

30 Day Shred

So to accompany my healthier eating habits, or the attempt thereof, I've started Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred. I'm not gonna lie, the first day kicked my butt. Just when the thought would enter my head to just stop and shut off the DVD, Jillian would say "I know you want to stop, but keep going!" or something like that.  She's interesting, and keeps talking while you're working hard, but at least it diverts your attention for a little bit. 

The way the workout is set up, is "3, 2, 1." 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. You repeat this circuit 3 times, to take up a 20 minute workout, plus warmup and cooldown.  It's intense and to be honest, on the first day, I was out of breath after the warmup!  But my endurance is improving and I'm now on Day 6.  The original plan was to work on it Monday thru Friday and rest on weekends, but the way things have been working out, I've just gotta do it when I can get to it. 

The 3,2, 1 approach is one that I like a lot. It's doable. When it gets tough, you know you can hold out for just a few more seconds. And like Jillian says, "it's when it's hard that counts!" 

I definitely recommend this video...I may not "lose up to 20 pounds!" that the dvd advertises...but even if I don't, it's okay..because I feel accomplished when I finish.  And also like Jillian says, "if you give (her) a good 20 minutes of intensity, it'll save you hours at the gym!!" And for a busy mommy, that's what tickles my ear :)